Degrees & Majors

Georgia State University’s Graduate Certificate in Policy Analytics provides students with state-of-the-art data analytics skills applied specifically to questions and issues in the public and nonprofit sectors. Policy analytics examines large, structured and unstructured data for insights, prediction, and evaluation of individual and organizational behavior, spatial forms, public and nonprofit programs. Students who pursue a certificate in Public Analytics benefit in several ways:

• Enhanced Analytical Skills: Specialized training in techniques and tools for decision-making in the public sector. The ability to effectively collect, interpret, and analyze data to derive valuable insights is highly sought after in today’s data-driven world.
• Competitive Advantage: Demonstration of professional development and commitment to contemporary methodologies. Employers value candidates with confidence in using data and evidence to drive decision-making.
• Career Opportunities: Roles such as data analyst, policy analyst, program evaluator, or strategic planner. Public analytics is a rapidly growing field with a wide range of career opportunities in government agencies, nonprofit organizations, consulting firms, and research institutions.
• Professional Networking: Valuable connections, mentorship opportunities, and access to job openings. Building a strong professional network enhances career prospects and provides ongoing support for personal and professional growth.

Georgia State University’s College of Law and the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies offer a joint Master of Public Administration/Juris Doctor degree. This joint program provides an opportunity to pursue studies in law, public affairs and public management concurrently. Students in the program use credit hours earned in one program to satisfy some or all of the elective course requirements for the other program, earning both degrees one to two terms earlier than would be required to earn each separately.

The nonprofit leadership minor allows students to learn about the important role of nonprofit organizations in addressing social issues and interests in a democratic society and participating in the formulation and implementation of public policy. Through this minor, students will become aware of the many and diverse career opportunities in the nonprofit sector, in areas such as the arts, social services, education, health care, the environment, policy advocacy, and international relief and development, and they will learn the skills, knowledge and challenges of leadership in this sector. This minor will prepare students for entry level jobs in nonprofit management and for graduate study in nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, and related fields. For information on program requirements, visit the Andrew Young School of Public Policy website.

By pursuing a degree in Public Management and Policy students will acquire skills in professional writing, evidence-based critical thinking and policy analysis in the policy core coursework and in elective concentrations.  Students can choose from three distinct concentrations:  Nonprofit Leadership, Planning and Economics Development, and Public Management and Governance.  Students also will gain valuable skills during the internship course portion of their program.  This program prepares students for a leadership or management career in public services.

Societal needs—for economic growth, better health care, environmental protection, etc.—and resource limitations challenge policymakers to make difficult public policy choices. The doctoral program in public policy prepares its graduates to conduct original research to help scholars and policymakers understand the trade-offs involved in such choices across a broad range of critical issues. Students can focus on:

• Policy analysis and program evaluation: How can we predict the consequences of our policy choices? What values should drive those choices? How can we determine which government and nonprofit programs work – producing benefits that exceed their costs?
• Public budgeting and finance: How can governments raise the funds necessary to provide public services in as equitable a manner as possible without impeding economic growth? How should and do governments decide which services and programs to fund? How can taxes achieve socially desirable goals?
• Public and nonprofit management: How should functions be divided among the governmental, nonprofit and for-profit sectors? How should managers allocate financial and human resources to meet public needs? How should managers balance equity and efficiency claims?
• Urban and regional planning and development: How can we assess and evaluate the complex and dynamic context and forces that shape the growth of cities, communities and regions? What strategies can be employed to promote equitable and sustainable development? What roles do systems (for example, transportation, housing) play in creating the environments and communities we desire?

Georgia State University’s College of Law and the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies offer a joint Master of Public Policy/Juris Doctor degree. This dual degree program provides an opportunity to pursue studies in law and public policy concurrently. Students in the dual degree program use credit hours earned in one program to satisfy some or all of the elective course requirements for the other program, thus earning both degrees one to two terms earlier than would be required to earn each separately. A joint M.P.P./J.D. prepares students to meet the increasing necessity of lawyers with an expertise in policy analysis and evaluation and for policy analysts with legal expertise.  Many recent law graduates are employed by government agencies, and others are employed by private and nonprofit sector, including consulting firms and community development nonprofit organizations concerned with some of society’s most challenging public policy issues. Training in public policy is valuable to law graduates who seek this kind of employment.

Georgia State’s Advanced Standing Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) program strives to prepare students for social work leadership roles in the effort to solve, in partnerships with others, the existing and developing challenges that confront communities in the United States and internationally. Community partnerships, based on a generalist practice model, is the sole focus of the M.S.W. program. Students in the Community Partnerships specialization are educated to advance the needs and capacities of the total community by promoting social and economic justice and maximizing human potential. They are educated to commit themselves to addressing the life circumstances, such as poverty, violence, discrimination and disparities in social and economic justice that fall disproportionately on vulnerable groups and challenge the spirit of the entire community. This unique focus provides students with the opportunity to learn about social issues facing urban communities through a social and economic justice framework. Our graduates have become leaders in various service delivery sectors including health care, public child welfare services, non profit management and numerous other contexts. To accomplish the mission of the M.S.W. program, the School of Social Work has set forth these goals: (1) students will be able to think critically and communicate effectively in the application of social work knowledge, skills and values to community partnerships practice, and (2) students will be able to engage as social work leaders to build and strengthen communities. Georgia State Master’s Social Work Program Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes

Georgia State’s Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) program strives to prepare students for social work leadership roles in the effort to solve, in partnerships with others, the existing and developing challenges that confront communities in the United States and internationally. Community partnerships, based on a generalist practice model, is the sole focus of the M.S.W. program. Students in the Community Partnerships specialization are educated to advance the needs and capacities of the total community by promoting social and economic justice and maximizing human potential. They are educated to commit themselves to addressing the life circumstances, such as poverty, violence, discrimination and disparities in social and economic justice that fall disproportionately on vulnerable groups and challenge the spirit of the entire community. This unique focus provides students with the opportunity to learn about social issues facing urban communities through a social and economic justice framework. Our graduates have become leaders in various service delivery sectors, including health care, public child welfare services, non profit management and numerous other contexts. Georgia State Master’s Social Work Program Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes